Epifanio de Moirans

Epifanio de Moirans (* 1644 in Moirans-en-Montagne , † January 6, 1689 in Tours ) was a lawyer and Capuchin monk who, together with his brother Francisco José de Jaca , fought for and for the rights of black African slaves in the colonies Was tried and imprisoned in Cuba in 1682 .

Both used the time in detention to write down their experiences. The two regarded slavery as a terrible sin . They demanded the release of all slaves and the obligation of the slave owners to pay financial compensation to all ex-slaves. The two monks had only met in Cuba in 1681, where they came independently of each other. Brother Epifanio was previously a missionary in what is now French Guiana , Martinique, and Venezuela . Both the Catholic Church and the Spanish royal family considered slavery to be legal at the time. Both monks threw slave owners out of the confessional and refused to give them absolution . This sparked a scandal , the bishop and the governor of Cuba had both locked up and brought to Spain in the next fleet , where they were tried.

However, there were sympathizers among the clergy who distributed the writings of the two and interceded with influential people. In 1683 they were both released and King Charles II issued a decree instructing officials in the colonies to punish cruel slaveholders. Even the Papal Curia took a public position on slavery and made it compulsory for buyers to find out about the origin of slaves and, in case of doubt, to release and compensate them. However, the two most powerful institutions at the time could not or would not change the practice of slavery. The writings of the two monks were locked away in the royal archives ; they were forbidden from ever going to America again . Nothing is known about their further fate.

Individual evidence

↑ Miguel-Anxo Pena: Epifanio de Moirans (1644-1689). Misionero capuchino y antiesclavista . In: Collectanea Franciscana (Roma) . ( academia.edu [accessed April 8, 2020]).
↑ Stefanie Hardick: Unfair trade . In: Matthias Kleiner, President of the Leibniz Association (ed.): Leibniz (magazine) . tape 02 , no. 02 . MedienSchiff Bruno, February 2018, ISSN 2192-7847 , p. 38-44 .

personal data
SURNAME	Moirans, Epifanio de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Lawyer and Capuchin monk
DATE OF BIRTH	1644
PLACE OF BIRTH	Moirans-en-Montagne
DATE OF DEATH	January 6, 1689
Place of death	Tours

[1] Miguel-Anxo Pena: Epifanio de Moirans (1644-1689). Misionero capuchino y antiesclavista . In: Collectanea Franciscana (Roma) . ( academia.edu [accessed April 8, 2020]).

[2] Stefanie Hardick: Unfair trade . In: Matthias Kleiner, President of the Leibniz Association (ed.): Leibniz (magazine) . tape 02 , no. 02 . MedienSchiff Bruno, February 2018, ISSN 2192-7847 , p. 38-44 .